1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to innovative patch plug designs that facilitate, inter alia, easy and effective connector termination in the field.
2. Background Art
Patch plug designs for use with patch cords, e.g., conventional cables that include a plurality of twisted pair wires, are known. For example, Lucent Technologies (Morristown, N.J.) provides a patch plug/patch cord assembly that is fabricated from top and bottom patch plug housings. The top and bottom housings (also referred to as xe2x80x9cbasexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccoverxe2x80x9d housings) include cooperative latching fingers/slots that are employed to establish and maintain the respective housings in fixed alignment after the wires from the patch cord are properly positioned therebetween. Of note, each housing is substantially planar in design, and the units available from Lucent Technologies are fabricated in a factory environment. Thus, the commercially available units according to the Lucent design include patch plugs that are pre-secured to patch cords, such that the patch cords extend from the patch plugs when purchased by potential users thereof.
In view of the ever-increasing breadth and complexity of wiring applications, it would be highly desirable to provide a patch plug design that facilitates enhanced flexibility in implementation and use. In particular, it would be advantageous to provide a patch plug design that would facilitate easy and effective field wiring thereof. Additionally, a patch plug design that provides/facilitates enhanced performance, e.g., reduced NEXT and FEXT noises, would be desirable.
These and other objectives are achieved, either individually or collectively, through the advantageous patch plug designs and methods disclosed herein.
According to the present disclosure, innovative patch plug designs are provided that facilitate, inter alia, easy and effective connector termination in the field. Exemplary embodiments of the disclosed patch plugs may be advantageously installed in the field using conventional equipment, e.g., a conventional punch tool.
The advantageously disclosed patch plug designs effectively address inherent space constraints to facilitate connection between a series of insulation displacement connectors (xe2x80x9cIDCsxe2x80x9d) and a wire, e.g., a twisted pair cable, to form an advantageous patch cord. In preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, the disclosed patch plug includes a printed circuit board having proprietary features to provide enhanced performance (e.g., to achieve reduced near end crosstalk). The present disclosure also relates to advantageous field implementations utilizing the disclosed patch plug designs.
Preferred patch plugs according to the present disclosure include:
(a) a cover that includes a first hinge member at an intermediate position of the cover;
(b) a housing that includes a second hinge member at an intermediate position of the housing;
(c) a plurality of towers extending from the housing; and
(d) IDC features positioned between adjacent pairs of the plurality of towers.
According to the present disclosure, rotational/pivotal motion of the cover and the housing relative to the first and second hinge members facilitates establishing electrical connection between wires and the IDCs. Preferred patch plugs according to the present disclosure include hinge members that are living hinges, terminals that are positioned in alternating pairs to provide improved return loss, and terminals that are fabricated with associated contact blades, compliant eyes, and IDCs (or IPCs) incorporated into an integral member to contribute to improved performance of such patch plug.
These and other unique features of the disclosed systems, devices and methods of the present disclosure will become more readily apparent from the drawings taken in conjunction with the detailed description of preferred and exemplary embodiments provided herein.